Abductive research: Leveraging puzzles, surprise or mystery in qualitative research
10 December 2025 | 16:00 Istanbul / 13:00 GMT | Zoom
Dear Colleagues,
We are delighted to announce the upcoming webinar hosted by the Organization and Management Theory (OMT) Interest Group of the Turkish Academy of Management (TAOM).
In this interactive session, Professor Karan Sonpar (University College Dublin) will introduce the abductive research approach-a qualitative methodology that invites researchers to notice, embrace, and theorize from puzzles, surprises, and mysteries in their empirical materials. As a "light or moderate form of constructionism" (Alvesson & Kärreman, 2007), abduction offers a compelling and pragmatic path to produce research that is both theoretically informed and refreshingly novel.
Drawing on published examples, Professor Sonpar will demonstrate how abductive reasoning can help scholars navigate empirical anomalies and craft persuasive, insightful qualitative studies.
About the Speaker
Professor Karan Sonpar is Full Professor and Chair in Organizational Behaviour at University College Dublin, where he also serves as Associate Dean. His research focuses on social identity, social cognition, social evaluations, and societal issues in management, using phenomenon-driven and qualitative approaches.
He currently serves as an Associate Editor for Human Relations and the Journal of Management Inquiry, with work published in leading international journals.
More details: https://people.ucd.ie/karan.sonpar
📅 Date & Time
10 December 2025
16:00 (Istanbul) | 13:00 (GMT)
Duration: 90 minutes (including Q&A)
🔗 Zoom Registration
Please register via the link below to join the session:
👉 https://zoom.us/meeting/register/rGDvWjYITXe5hsqm0gRUCQ
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Cenk Sozen
Full Professor
Turkish Academy of Management
Ankara
+905394731711
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